Chelsea could leapfrog Arsenal and Manchester City in the race to sign Tino Livramento this summer, thanks to a clause, inserted by Marina Granovskaia, into the defender's contract with Southampton. The 20-year-old has been thinly linked with an exit from the Saints as he continues to nurse a serious knee injury.
Livramento landed awkwardly during Southampton's 2-2 draw with Brighton back in April. A scan later revealed that the Cobham graduate required surgery on a ruptured anterior cruciate ligament — he has since been on the doctor's table but that hasn't deterred clubs considering a move to secure his signature.
According to Ben Jacobs, CBS journalist, the Gunners are in the market for a new right-back this summer and Ivan Fresneda is Mikel Arteta's priority. The north Londoners will also keeps tabs on Livramento once he's fit again — but they face strong competition from the Premier League champions.
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The England youth international was one of several prospects at Cobham who were offered lucrative contracts by Chelsea in 2021, football.london understands. But, later that summer, Livramento opted swapped Stamford Bridge for St Mary's Stadium for an initial fee of just £5million.
However, former director Marina Granovskaia inserted a clause which could come in handy this summer. The Blues will have the chance to re-sign the youngster in the summer of 2023 for £38m.
While many Chelsea supporters were upset to see the club offload Livramento, he believes that he made the right decision. Speaking to Hampshire Live, he said: "You look back and I didn't have many changes through the academy, I stayed at Chelsea and signed every contract that they gave me.
"Taking that step to decide to leave was massive, but it was well thought out, I took a lot of time and a lot of reasoning. At the end of the day, I just wanted to play first-team football consistently.
"I didn't realise I would play so much so early on, but I realised I would probably get more opportunities than I maybe would have got at Chelsea. It was the right decision for me, I felt.
"Maybe not everyone would have done what I did, and I am not saying what I did would work for everyone, but I looked at it for myself and ultimately, it was what I felt was right for me."
While Chelsea hold the option to bring Livramento back, it looks unlikely that it will be the case. In January, the Blues signed Lyon star Malo Gusto, who will join the first-team squad at the end of the season to deputise Reece James.
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